Today's photo is from Ayer, Massachusetts. This was taken the same time as another Photo of the Week post I posted a couple months ago. Ayer is a fun place to watch trains, as the MBTA Commuter Rail goes through there on the Fitchburg line and Pan Am Railways runs a lot of freights through there as well. This is an MBTA work train headed out towards Fitchburg:
I do not know why the work train was going out, because I had left my scanner at home. However, it was cool to see it (it came back a little while later, towards Boston). The locomotive is a Providence & Worcester locomotive that MBTA was borrowing for a while for work train power. It has since returned to the P&W. MBTA's work power fleet consists of 3247, a GP40; 3248 and 3249, two 3GS21B genset units; 902, a GP18 used mostly for parts for the 904, another GP18 in a fancy blue and silver paint scheme. GP40MCs and F40PHs can sometimes be seen on work trains as well.
Notice that the caboose has headlights, ditch lights, and a plow. It is designed so the train can go with the caboose on the front. When this train returned to Boston, the locomotive had been run around the train and was leading it back to Boston long hood first.
MBTA has recently acquired some new passenger power as well. I do not have photos of these, I should go on a "research trip" and try to find some. First, they bought two MP36PH-3Cs from Utah Transit Authority. UTA bought more than 20 of these units when they opened their commuter line between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Since that is the only line currently open (plenty more are under construction) the UTA does not need all of their locomotives right now. MBTA bought the 010 and 011. They have since put in an order with Morrison-Knudsen for 20 more of these units, to be delivered in 2013. Secondly, MBTA has five GP40 widecabs, I'm not sure their actual designation, from MARC. I think these are leased, because they have not been painted into MBTA colors. Actually, I don't really know much about them at all, except that the railroad has them.
Now that it is getting warmer out, I need to get down to Ayer again and hope I see some of these new toys that MBTA has.
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